page_title: Dalit
section_title: Social reform in India
hierarchical_section_title: Dalit / Social reform in India
caption_attribution_description: English: President Clinton and Ambassador Dick Celeste introduce President Narayanan to the US delegation. Arrival Ceremony, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi
context_page_description: "Dalit" refers to socially, economically and historically marginalized communities predominantly in India. It also means "broken/scattered" in Sanskrit and Hindi. The term dalits was in use as a translation for the British Raj census classification of Depressed Classes prior to 1935. It was popularised by the economist and reformer B. R. Ambedkar, who included all depressed people irrespective of their caste into the definition of dalits. Hence the first group he made was called the "Labour Party" and included as its members all people of the society who were kept depressed, including women, small scale farmers and people from backward castes.
  Dr. Ambedkar fought for a separate electorate for Dalits in Ramsay MacDonald’s Communal Award during British Raj. This award would have ensured adequate representation of Dalit community enabling them to vote for their candidate.
  In 1932, the British Raj recommended separate electorates to select leaders for Dalits in the Communal Award. This was favoured by Ambedkar but when Mahatma Gandhi opposed the proposal it resulted in the Poona Pact.
context_section_description: There have been many attempts to neutralize the caste-based discrimination. In the 1930s, the teachings of B. R. Ambedkar  and Mahatma Gandhi began to change attitudes towards the Dalit minority. In 1949 ‘Untouchability’ was outlawed by the Indian constitution and Indian law does not permit the practice of a caste system. Discrimination against the Dalit minority has become an important human rights and political issue. Even so, in rural areas the Dalits are still facing the consequences of the slow and steady decline of discrimination.
caption: President Clinton and Ambassador Dick Celeste introduce President Narayanan to the US delegation. Arrival Ceremony, Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Delhi
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